Ladders



April 7, 1970 J. E. BOYD 3,504,768

LADDERS Filed June 21, 1968 H/S A T TORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 182152 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Improvements in ladders are disclosed, comprising, framework means, a ladder section having a pair of rails and rungs joinning said rails, and hinge means hinging said ladder section to said framework means so that said ladder section is swingable about a horizontal axis between a vertical stowage position and an angled work position.

My invention relates to ladders.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of improvements in ladders which extend their usefulness and permit results to be accomplished not heretofore attainable with ordinary ladders.

Reference is made to my prior copending United States patent application Ser. No. 712,787, filed Mar. 13, 1968, in which improvements in ladders not claimed herein are disclosed and claimed.

The foregoing object of my invention and its advantages will become apparent during the course of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGS. 1-6 are various view of a ladder embodying my invention; FIGS. l-3 being, respectively, front perspective, side elevational and front elevational views thereof; FIGS. 4 and 5 being top plan views thereof in different positions; and FIG. 6 being a fragmentary sectional view of the structure of FIG. 4 taken on the line 6-6 thereof.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, 20 generally designates said ladder which is free standing and comprises an intermediate ladder section 22 and a pair of outboard ladder sections 24. The intermediate ladder section 22 comprises a pair of rails 26 joined together by rungs 28. Each outboard ladder section 24 comprises inner vertical rails 30 and outer vertical rails 32 joined together by horizontal rungs 34. The rungs 34 of each outboard ladder section 24 are individually hinged to the inner vertical rail 30 on a vertical axis by hinge means 36. The ladder 20 has a work position shown in FIGS. 1-4 and a stowage position shown in FIG. 5 by virtue of said ladder sections and the hinge means 36. The hinge means 36 have one leg which is offset to disposed the rungs 34 closer together in the work position of the ladder 20. The rails 30 are joined together by a connecting member 38 to which the intermediate ladder section 22 is hinged on a horizontal axis by hinge means 40. The intermediate ladder section 22 has a vertical stowage position in which it is shown in full lines in FIGS. 1-5 and obtuse angled work position in a forward one of which it is shown in broken lines in FIG. 2. The intermediate ladder section 22 is held in its stowage position by detent means which include a manually operable spring biased detent rod 42 carried in each rail 25 so that the head thereof is disposed on the inside of said rail 26. The free end of said rod 42 projects beyond the outside of each said rail 26 and into aperture means 43 in a holding member 44 carried on each inner rail 30. The intermediate ladder section 22 is held in an intermediate work position by aperture means 46 in the topmost rungs 34 which receive the projecting free ends of said rod 42. The intermediate ladder section 22 is held in said forward work position by stop members 48 which are. fast on the outer rails 32 and bear against the rails 26.

The ladder sections 22 and 24 are locked in the work position of the ladder 20 by a rail 52 the free ends of which are slidably received and held in pairs of sleeves 54 carried on the rails 32. In the work position of the ladder 20 it is intended that for many applications the rails 32 will be disposed adjacent a wall in which case it is desirable to have means which will steady the ladder 20 against said wall in the event it may tip forward. For this purpose length adjusting means 56 with bumper means on the free ends thereof are provided to project from the front faces of the rails 32 so that in use of the ladder 20 said bumper means will be disposed as closely as possible to said wall without touching the same. The rails 32 are provided with angle base members 58 which assist in preventing tipping of the ladder 20 forwardly. The rails 30 are provided with like members 60 which assist in preventing rearward tipping of the ladder 20.

In the work position of the ladder 20 the intermediate ladder section 22 may be used in its various work positions in which case one or more workmen would mount the ladder 20 from the rear thereof and climb said intermediate ladder section 22. On the other hand the intermediate ladder section 22 may be disposed in its stowage position and plank means 62 employed on which one or more workmen may stand in which case said workmen would mount the ladder 20 from the front thereof. The rail 52 may be employed by a workman as a step to reach the plank means 62 when it is used on the higher of the rungs 34. The plank means 62 is fastened in its work position (in which it is shown in broken lines) on the ladder 20 by a pair of rods 64 the free ends of each of which project through apertures in the ends of the plank means 62 and in the rungs 34. The plank means 62 has a stowage position in the ladder 20 (in which it is shown in full lines) in a stowage compartment formed at the base and in front of the intermediate ladder section 22 between and within the confines of the sides of the rails 30. Each rail 30 is a channel shaped member having rear and front side walls which are bridged near their bottom ends by a support member 66. Thesupport members 66 support the plank means 62 from beneath the same in the stowage position thereof and form a discontinuous bottom wall of said stowage compartment. The back side wall of each rail 30 is full for its entire length and the portion thereof from the bottom end of the rail 30 to above the second lowest pair of rungs 34 forms the back wall of said stowage compartment. The front side wall of each rail 30 is full from the bottom end of the rail 30 to above the second lowest pair of rungs 34 and such portion forms the front wall of said stowage compartment. Between the pairs of rungs above the second lowest pair thereof the front side wall of each rail 30 is cut-away, as at 68, so that the full length of the plank means 62 can pass between the rails 30 in its movement between its stowage position and its work position on the pairs of rungs above the lowest pair thereof. Thus the plank means 62 can be raised from said stowage compartment to one of its work positions on one of the pairs of rungs above the lowest pair thereof and pass full length unimpeded between the rails 30 through the corresponding pair of cut-away portions 68.

The ladder sections 22 and 24 are locked in the stowage position of the ladder 20 by clips 50 which are mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis on the second highest of the rungs 28 of the ladder section 22. The clips 50 are swung inwardly toward each other to allow the outboard ladder sections 24 to assume their stowage position and are swung back again to hold the rails 32 to lock said ladder sections 24 in said stowage position. In the stowage position of the ladder the parts thereof are compactly arranged so that said ladder 20 is readily transported be tween difierent locations.

The ladder 20 is extremely versatile as it can be used either from the front side thereof by standing upon the plank means '62 or from the back side thereof by standing upon the intermediate ladder section 22. The ladder 20 can be used against a wall or in a room away from the wall or in many other ways.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by my invention improvements in ladders in which the object hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages has been successfully achieved. While a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it is to be understood that variations and changes may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ladder, the improvement comprising, in combination, a pair of outboard ladder sections, a third ladder section intermediate between said pair of outboard ladder sections, each said ladder section having a pair of rails and rungs joining said rails, said ladder having a work position in which the rungs of said outboard ladder sections are disposed in parallel planes and a stowage position in which said rungs are disposed in the same plane, and means to lock said rungs in each of said work and stowage positions, and hinge means hinging said intermediate ladder section about a horizontal axis so that the same is swingable between a vertical stowage position and an angled work position of said intermediate ladder section.

2. The improvement of claim 1 comprising, hinge means hinging the rungs of each outboard ladder section to a rail thereof so that said rungs and the other rail are swingable about a vertical axis between said work and stowage positions of said ladder.

3. The improvement of claim 2 in which said other rail of each ladder section carries means to lock said rungs in said work position of said ladder.

4. The improvement of claim 3 in which said other rail of each ladder section carries sleeve means to lock said rungs in said work position of said ladder.

5. The improvement of claim 4 comprising a locking rail the ends of which are slidably received in said sleeve means to lock said rungs in said work position of said ladder.

6. The improvement of claim 1 in which said intermediate ladder section is multiple stance in width.

7. The improvement of claim 1 in which said intermediate ladder section carries means to lock said rungs in said stowage position of said ladder.

8. The improvement of claim 1 comprising plank means extending between said ladder sections supported on a pair of rungs in said work position of said ladder, and stowage compartment means for stowing said plank means in said stowage position of said ladder.

9. The improvement of claim 8 comprising means for passing said plank means full length between said stowage and work positions.

10. The improvement of claim 9 comprising means for passing said plank means full length between two of said rails and over said pair of rungs in passing said plank means between said stowage and work positions.

11. The improvement of claim 10 comprising means extending between said ladder sections for stepping upon to reach said plank means to step thereupon in the work position of said ladder.

12. In a ladder, framework means, a ladder section supported on said framework means so that said ladder section can he climbed upon from one side of said framework means, plank means stored in said framework means and having a work position thereon, said plank means accessible from the opposite side of said framework means.

13. The improvement of claim 12 comprising rung means at opposite ends of said framework means for climbing upon.

14. The improvement of claim 13 comprising means extending between said opposite ends of said framework on said opposite side thereof for stepping upon to reach said plank means to step thereupon.

15. The improvement of claim 12, hinge means for hinging said ladder section about a horizontal axis so that it is swingable between a vertical stowage position and an angled work position of said ladder section.

16. The improvement of claim 15, hinge means hinging each said rung means about a vertical axis so that said framework means is foldable between work and stowage positions of said ladder.

17. In a ladder, the improvement comprising, in combination, a pair of outboard sections each having a pair of rails, a ladder section intermediate between said outboard sections, said intermediate ladder section having a pair of rails and rungs joining said rails, said ladder having a work position in which said outboard seections are disposed in parallel planes and a stowage position in which said outboard sections are disposed in the same plane, means to lock said outboard sections in each of said work and stowage positions, and hinge means hinging said intermediate ladder section about a horizontal axis so that the same is swingable between a vertical stowage position and an angled work position of said intermediate ladder section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 882,161 3/1908 Olive 182-104 2,622,783 12/1952 Mahoney 18277 2,718,346 9/1955 Galen l82l04 2,593,386 4/1952 Dirks l82-l52 2,987,148 6/1961 Millard 182-152 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner 

